Wikileaks has released the missing pages from the Schaefer report into illegal state spying on the German press. The 2006 report, compiled by former federal judge Professor Schaefer, investigated spying on journalists by Germany's secret intelligence service, the BND or Bundesnachrichtendienst. The missing pages contain detailed descriptions about the BND's contacts with Focus magazine journalist Josef Hufelschulte, code name 'Jerez'.

The BND is forbidden under German law to engage in domestic spying. But as stated by Hufelschulte's BND handler, contact was initially established to influence domestic media coverage of the BND and general intelligence activities. Hufelschulte was therefore a similar target for the BND as Der Spiegel's Mascolo, who is also frequently mentioned in the document. As a secondary goal Hufelschulte was used to glean information about the identity of sources within the BND who had been leaking to Hufelschulte and other journalists. Many meeting notes between the BND and Hufelschulte' relate to attempting to find the sources of articles appearing in Der Spiegel.

Hufelschulte also had extensive exchange with the BND on various contemporary topics in the time-frame of his possibly unwitting collaboration, including the affair around ministerial president Uwe Barschel, IRA activity in Lebanon, meetings of PDS politicians Gregor Gysi and Andrea Lederer with "leading members of the Libyan secret service" as well as conversations relating to plutonium smuggling.

According to a table published in the excerpt, Hufelschulte had 58 meetings with BND representatives during the time of his contact with BND superintendent Volker Foertsch. The notes taken about these meetings are summarized in the report and clearly indicate that Hufelschulte had published reports provided by the BND intended to produce favorable coverage.

The document in general shows the extent to which the collaboration of journalists with intelligence agencies has become common and to what dimensions consent is manufactured in the interests of those involved.

The official committee of investigation into the BND re-sits today after returning from its summer break.